Solitary Reaper by William Wordsworth Summary and explanation:
Once, Wordsworth was traveling in the hilly area of Scotland. Suddenly he saw a solitary highland girl reaping and singing by herself in a distant cornfield. The whole valley was overflowing with the sweet music of the song. The poet was greatly charmed by the song sung by the solitary girl. He stood motionless and still to hear the song.
He felt that the song of the reaper girl was as sweet as that of a Nightingale heard by the weary travelers in the Arabian Desert. It seemed to him even sweeter and more thrilling than that of a Cuckoo in the Islands of Hebrides at the advent of the spring.
The poet could not make out the theme of the song. He, however, thinks it is about some unhappy incident of the past or a battle fought long ago or about some misfortunes of our daily life like loss, pain or death. He listened to the song motionlessly. The song seemed to him unending. He then left the place carrying the sweet and sad music of the song in his heart as a source of joy for ever.
The song of the reaper girl greatly influenced the poet. It humanized him. He could hear the sad song sung by the reaper girl. But he could not make out the theme of the song as the girl was singing the song in a regional language unknown to the poet.